Fortnite

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Fortnite with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and Intel Arc B390 reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 115 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops that figure to 73 FPS, a 36.5% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 39 FPS, which is 66.1% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is far worse than what would be expected from pixel-count increases alone, signaling that the graphics subsystem is the primary constraint.

The picture becomes even more telling when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average is 63 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 40 FPS, and at 4K it collapses to 21 FPS. The gap between Low and High at 1080p is 52 FPS, but at 4K that gap narrows to just 18 FPS. This compression of performance differences at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is being saturated, leaving little headroom for settings to matter. In other words, the Intel Arc B390 is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

The data implies that the Ryzen 7 5700 has ample processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but once the pixel workload increases, the GPU's limitations dominate. The 1080p Low result of 115 FPS indicates the CPU can push well beyond 100 FPS in this title, yet the GPU cannot sustain that pace when resolution rises. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings — from 73 to 39 FPS — represents a 46.6% drop, which is proportionally larger than the 2.25x pixel increase from 1440p to 4K. This nonlinear degradation points to the GPU running out of fillrate or memory bandwidth, not the CPU hitting a compute ceiling.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution, as indicated by its bus interface of "IGP" and slot width of "IGP". Its memory configuration is "System Shared" for both size and type, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent". This shared-memory architecture means the GPU draws from the same DDR4 pool as the CPU, which can create contention in memory-intensive scenarios. Fortnite, being a fast-paced battle royale, relies heavily on texture streaming and draw calls, so the lack of dedicated VRAM likely contributes to the performance collapse at higher resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds show a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz. The boost clock is where the chip operates under load, and the wide gap between base and boost suggests aggressive power management. With a TDP of 80 W, this is a low-power component, which aligns with its integrated nature. The shading units number 1536, with 48 texture mapping units and 24 raster output pipelines. These specifications produce a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. For a game like Fortnite with stylized graphics but numerous dynamic objects, the texture rate is likely the limiting factor when settings increase, as higher presets demand more texture filtering.

The GPU's benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This is a low ranking, and the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), and the GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower). The B390 is only 2.7% faster than the GT 710, which scores 1443. These comparisons place the B390 in a class of entry-level or legacy graphics hardware, which is consistent with the measured FPS results in Fortnite. The GPU's FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and FP16 of 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) are modest figures that support this positioning.

The data suggests that the B390's integrated nature and shared memory are the primary causes of the poor scaling at 4K. The 14 FPS average at 4K Ultra is barely playable, and even 4K Low at 39 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold most players target. The system memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s on the CPU side is a hard ceiling for the shared GPU, and Fortnite's engine likely saturates this bus when rendering at high pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured rows, the most playable combination is 1920x1080 with Low settings, yielding 115 FPS on average. This is the only preset-resolution pairing that exceeds 100 FPS, making it the clear choice for competitive play where frame rate matters most. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 81 FPS, which is still smooth, and the data shows a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS, indicating some variance but no severe dips. For players seeking a balance between visual quality and responsiveness, Medium at 1080p is a viable option, sacrificing 34 FPS compared to Low but gaining improved textures and effects.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. Low settings deliver 73 FPS, which is acceptable for casual play but below the competitive threshold. Medium at 1440p drops to 51 FPS, with a min of 44 and max of 59, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High at 1440p is 40 FPS, and Ultra is 26 FPS, both of which are too low for a game where split-second reactions matter. The data indicates that 1440p is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal.

The 4K results are uniformly poor. Low at 39 FPS is the best, but it is still below 60 FPS. Medium at 27 FPS, High at 21 FPS, and Ultra at 14 FPS are all unplayable for most users. The recommendation from the data is straightforward: stick to 1080p with Low or Medium settings. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 34 FPS, which is a significant trade-off, but the visual improvements in Fortnite's stylized environments may justify it for some players. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended, as the 1080p result of 41 FPS is barely above the 4K Low figure, showing that the GPU cannot handle the highest settings even at the lowest resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2417 out of 2740 tested combos in Fortnite. This places it in the bottom 11.8% of all configurations, which is a poor showing. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities, as the Ryzen 7 5700 is a capable processor in isolation. The combo's position is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 78th percentile among all CPUs. This disparity between component tiers is a key insight: the pairing is unbalanced, with the GPU dragging down overall performance.

The rank of 2417 means there are 323 combos that perform worse, but the overwhelming majority of tested configurations outperform this pairing. For a game like Fortnite, which is known for running well on a wide range of hardware, a sub-2500 rank is particularly notable. The data suggests that this combo is suited for low-resolution, low-settings gameplay only, and even then, it does not deliver exceptional frame rates compared to other rigs. The combo's performance in the 1080p Low preset — 115 FPS — is respectable, but when compared to the broader field, it falls short of what many mid-range systems achieve.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Xeon D-2752TER with an average score of 25530 (0.1% faster), the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U at 25485 (0.1% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 6600H at 25550 (0.1% faster). These are all close in CPU performance, yet the GPU pairing would produce wildly different Fortnite results if combined with a discrete graphics card. This underscores that the combo rank is almost entirely determined by the Intel Arc B390's limitations, not the Ryzen 7 5700's processing power.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This is a Zen 3 architecture chip built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. For Fortnite, which is a multi-threaded game that can utilize multiple cores for physics, rendering, and game logic, the 8-core/16-thread configuration is more than sufficient. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm this: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 20655, and single-core reaches 2916. PassMark multi-thread scores 24303, and single-thread scores 3296.

The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 115 FPS, which is a solid frame rate that many CPUs would struggle to maintain in Fortnite's more demanding scenes. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which is critical for Fortnite's main game thread. The 3DMark single-thread score of 901 and 2-thread score of 1762 further indicate that the CPU handles lightly threaded workloads well. The 16 MB L3 cache is ample for the game's data access patterns, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is standard for the platform.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 78 among all CPUs places it in the upper quartile, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in the database. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are all within 0.3% of its average score, showing that the Ryzen 7 5700 is competitive with other mid-range and mobile chips. However, in this specific Fortnite combo, the CPU's potential is unrealized because the GPU cannot keep up. At 4K Ultra, the 14 FPS average is a GPU limitation, not a CPU one. The CPU could likely push higher frame rates if paired with a more capable graphics solution, but the data only measures this specific combination.

The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is a shared resource with the integrated GPU, and this could be a secondary bottleneck. When the GPU accesses system memory for frame buffers and textures, it competes with CPU operations. The 8-core design mitigates some of this contention by distributing workloads, but the shared memory architecture remains a constraint. The CPU's ECC memory support is a feature that adds reliability but does not impact gaming performance directly.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values across presets are as follows: Low averages 115 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93, High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High at 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 74 FPS, indicating that settings have a substantial impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low averages 73 FPS, Medium averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 59, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 22 FPS, which is proportionally larger than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more strained. The spread from Low to Ultra is 47 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is running out of headroom.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low averages 39 FPS, Medium averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 12 FPS, and from Medium to High is 6 FPS, with the Ultra preset only 7 FPS below High. The spread from Low to Ultra is 25 FPS, showing that settings have diminishing returns at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 23 at 4K Medium indicates that frame pacing can become choppy, which would be noticeable in gameplay.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings: Low goes from 115 to 73 to 39 FPS, Medium from 81 to 51 to 27 FPS, High from 63 to 40 to 21 FPS, and Ultra from 41 to 26 to 14 FPS. The consistent halving of frame rates from 1080p to 4K across all settings underscores the GPU's fundamental performance ceiling. The 1080p Medium minimum of 69 FPS is notably close to the 1440p Low average of 73 FPS, suggesting that players could achieve similar frame rates by either lowering resolution or lowering settings, but not both simultaneously.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Fortnite?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achieved. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 115 FPS average, while 1440p Low drops to 73 FPS, and 4K Low falls to 39 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle Fortnite at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is Low settings at 39 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K produce 27, 21, and 14 FPS respectively, all of which are unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 78th percentile among all CPUs with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482. The FPS scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU is saturated.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M at 1460, and 2.5% faster than the GT 625 OEM at 1446.

Q: What settings preset provides the best balance of visuals and performance?

A: Medium at 1080p offers 81 FPS average with a minimum of 69 FPS, which is a reasonable compromise. The Low preset at 115 FPS is better for competitive play, while High at 63 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS do not offer sufficient frame rates for the visual gains.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Fortnite?

A: The combo ranks 2417 out of 2740 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11.8% of all configurations. This poor ranking is primarily due to the GPU's low performance, not the CPU.